Randy LeBaron Refill with Randy Blog

“The Power of Planting a Seed” by Pastor Randy

Earlier today I got a reminder that you never know how or when you might have an impact on someone’s life. As I shared in my “Refill with Randy” video yesterday (check it out on FB or YouTube if you haven’t watched yet) I am currently in a season of ministry where I enter into a person’s, a family’s, or a church’s life for a set period of time with a specific purpose.

The reality is that there have been opportunities to do this throughout my ministry. One way this would happen is when I would be asked to officiate a funeral for a family that isn’t connected to a church or pastor. That happens much more frequently now that I am working at Hospice, I’ve officiated 4 funerals over the past 8 days, but it would happen every now and again when I was pastoring full-time as well.

I always found that those were unique opportunities to show the love of Christ to those who are hurting and in need of hope. Unfortunately, sometimes you only get to interact with them for that that short period of time and so hope you make an impact but often never know.

Well this morning, as I was standing at the front of the funeral home watching the family come in, a young man walked over to me and said, “I don’t know if you remember me but you did my mother’s funeral in 2011.” I asked what his mother’s name was and he shared. I apologetically said that it was a long time ago, that I remember that I did her funeral but that he must have been much smaller then. He then went on to tell me that he just had to stop me to thank me for all of the beautiful things I shared at his mother’s service and how it had impacted him. I thanked him for taking the time to let me know and offered to reconnect with him in the near future.

Ironically, as much as I hadn’t known how much my words back then had impacted him he probably didn’t realize how much his words this morning impacted me. We all have those days when we wonder if what we do matters, especially if we don’t always see fruit immediately, and so his comments gave me a timely reminder to continue scattering gospel seeds whenever and wherever regardless of whether or not I can see the impact. In Mark 4 Jesus says that…

“The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.” Mark 4:26-29 NLT

And Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians…

“I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭3:6-9‬ ‭NLT‬

The point is that whether you are doing the planting, the watering, or the harvesting, all are equally important and we simply need to trust God to make the seed grow.

So friends, I just want to encourage you to ask God daily for opportunities to partner with Him for the purpose of growing His Kingdom and, whether you ever see the fruit or not, trust that with God’s help there is always hope when you take the time to plant a seed.

Randy LeBaron Refill with Randy Blog

“How Do You Like Working At Hospice?” by Pastor Randy LeBaron

Ok, technically I work at Supportive Care Orleans but, for the sake of simplicity, I will refer to it here as Hospice since that is the term most commonly used. And my title is Spiritual Care & Bereavement Coordinator but, rather than keep repeating that mouthful, I will just refer to myself as a Hospice Chaplain.

Ok, now that all that is out of the way, what I really want to do in today’s post is answer the question I have been asked the most since starting this role just over six months ago which is, “How Do You Like Working at Hospice?”

I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked some version of that question followed the statement “I couldn’t do it” or “I wouldn’t want to do that”. Of course what they are getting at is that they view ministering to those who are dying as a depressing occupation and having to deal with emotional family members, both before and after the expected outcome , as not much fun either.

I understand where they are coming from, and there are even days when I might agree with them, but overall my experience as a Hospice Chaplain has been very good and, though I may need to explain so that I don’t sound sadistic, I really like it. Here’s why…

  • I honestly feel like God has both called and equipped me for this role. From ministering alongside hospice for many years as a pastor to being ministered to by the hospice staff and volunteers while caring for my mother I view my primary role as “Comforting others with the same comfort that I myself have received.” (2 Corinthians 1:4b paraphrase mine)
  • I try to focus on the positives. It is hard saying goodbye again, and again, and again (I get attached quickly as many of you know ) but it is also a blessing to be able to say hello time and again to new patients, new caregivers, and new friends. Just as Tennyson once wrote that, “It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.” I have been so blessed by all who I have come in contact with through hospice that I would definitely agree that I would rather know each person, however brief, and to be saddened when they pass than to never to have know them at all.
  • I can honestly say that I am in awe of my coworkers and all of the staff at Supportive Care. There are those who have worked in this area for a lot longer than I have but day in and day out they continue to offer quality, compassionate care to whoever comes our way. Their passion and perseverance inspires me to continue on even when the days are long and difficult.
  • I feel most like a pastor again. As much as I have loved the different ways that God has used me over these past 3 years since stepping out of my role as Lead Pastor and starting Go Scatter Ministries I would say that I missed the fulfillment of walking with others through these transitional seasons of life.

And just in case you think I am romanticizing this role, or writing this while everything is going easy breezy, in the past five days since returning from Cattaraugus Christian Family Camp I have done two funerals, visited several patients at the residence or in their homes for Spiritual or Bereavement Care, performed grief counseling for a number of caregivers and made appts. for others, prepared for the first meeting of our caregivers support group tomorrow, participated in meetings, sent sympathy cards to several family members, called way too many spouses, siblings, sons, and daughters to offer condolences and assess how to best help them as they begin their grief journey, and just today I started early with a crisis call to go and offer support to a family whose loved one would pass hours later and my day ended with the sad news of another patient’s passing which took me by surprise.

For all intents and purposes I should be beyond poured out at this point (all this in 5 days and that doesn’t count my Go Scatter Ministry duties of preaching Sunday morning, counseling at Care-Net for most of the day on Tuesday, writing this blog, etc.) and to be sure I empathize with the families involved and will miss the patients but I also feel poured into as God uses me as His Feet, His Hands, and His Voice as I go and spend time holding a patient’s hand, giving caregivers hugs, or speaking words of comfort to those whose hearts are hurting.

I certainly covet your prayers, as I know all too well how quickly burnout can happen, but also want you to understand how grateful I am to God for giving me the opportunity and privilege to share Christ’s love with others in this unique way.

Randy LeBaron Refill with Randy Blog

“Using Our Hurts to Help Others” by Pastor Randy

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1:3-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If it’s true that “hurt people hurt people” then it can be equally true that hurt people who find healing can help other hurt people find healing.

Tomorrow (January 26th) will be the 10th Anniversary of one of the worst 24 hrs. of my life. I will share more about that on tomorrow’s Refill with Randy video but, in a nutshell, that was the day that my dad died and my mother was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. It was then a rollercoaster for the next 4 months before my mom passed.

During that time Sheryl and I struggled to care for her while also caring for our 4 young children. Between the frequent hospital visits, daily trips to radiation, more and more home care each week, and trying to do full-time ministry our energy waned and our emotions were tapped.

In spite of many rides and meals given to us from our church family we still needed more help and that is where Hospice stepped in. Between the home health aide and nurse visits, the hospital bed and other necessities, the care-givers support group, and the volunteers who offered us respite (like sitting with mom on Mother’s Day so we could be at church together), we were able to keep mom with us until the final 2 weeks. It was at that point that she moved into a Hospice Home (The Aurora House in Spencerport since Albion’s was still in the process of being built) and I met so many volunteers who had gone through something similar with their loved one and wanted to offer the same empathetic care for others. They allowed me to be a son instead of just a caregiver during those final days and I will always be grateful.

Fast forward to today and I have just begun my new position of Spiritual Care & Bereavement Coordinator for Supportive Care of Orleans (aka Hospice). Over the past decade I have been able to comfort many going through the same type of grief that I journeyed through at that time and I also experienced more along the way as I said goodbye to several church members, close friends, and all 3 of my brothers. And now I have the opportunity to continue helping others through their hurt just like others have helped me along the way.

I thank God for this new opportunity and I would ask that you please keep me in prayer, as well as those who I have the privilege of standing with during difficult times.

In what way might God use your past hurts to help people who are going through similar circumstances today?